The Impact of Perceived Overqualification on Workplace Procrastination: The Role of Public Service Motivation and Perceived Prosocial Impact.

Workplace procrastination is widespread in the public sector and has severe negative implications. However, research specifically focusing on workplace procrastination among civil servants remains scarce. Drawing on the person-environment (P-E) fit theory and the public service motivation (PSM) fit perspective, this study examines the relationship between perceived overqualification (POQ) and workplace procrastination through job boredom, and further explores how PSM and perceived prosocial impact moderate this relationship. Based on a survey of 363 Chinese civil servants, the findings reveal a positive correlation between POQ and workplace procrastination through job boredom, and this correlation is weaker for civil servants with high PSM than for those with low PSM. A three-way interaction analysis indicates that perceived prosocial impact enhances the ability of PSM to reduce job boredom caused by POQ, which in turn weakens the association between POQ and workplace procrastination. Moreover, when civil servants with high PSM perceive their work as having a high prosocial impact, the association between POQ and workplace procrastination becomes nonsignificant. This study introduces a person-environment interaction perspective for understanding the antecedents of workplace procrastination, underscores the costs of POQ in public organizations, and offers valuable insights for preventing workplace procrastination among civil servants.